07/17/2015 10:55AM
Here are the basics of BWCA cold tent/tarp camping that, I think, I learned last year:
1. Paper permits are all you need. No reservations or fees. The paper permits are available in boxes outside the ranger stations, and also (at least) at EP25. You don’t even have to fill them out and mail them in until after your trip.
2. At least EP25 on Moose Lake is plowed, and will have cars in it. There is a dogsled trail that leaves from EP25. The trail is marked with small pine boughs on the lake. The winter dogsled portages are marked on the McKenzie maps that you can buy at REI.
3. At least Snowbank lake, on the parts outside the BWCA, has plowed roads and lots of fishermen on it to ask advice. I suspect other lakes that fall partially outside the BWCA might be similar.
4. Portages between lakes next to moving water will have thin or no ice, even in the middle of January. Gathering this open water is more fuel efficient than melting snow, assuming you don’t have an ice auger to drill for water in the middle of a lake. You have to be careful of those long portages next to moving water, that are made up of a bunch of short portages with little separating ponds. Because, the little ponds might be impassible due to thin ice.
5. You want to stay really dry. For me, this means sometimes limiting exertion. Also, I need to keep the tops of my boots covered with snowpants, rainpants, or gaiters. Boots and gloves with removable liners are good.
6. Melting snow uses lots of fuel. Try to find liquid water instead.
7. Always put water in a pot before melting snow, so you don’t warp the pot :(.
8. The 4-qt open country aluminum pot, recommended by another BWCA.com member, was great for snow melting for one or two people. I also tried a heat exchanger pot. I thought the heat exchanger pot was nearly worthless.
9. Condensation and frost on a single wall tent or tarp is not a big deal. You can just shake out the frost in the morning. Frost on the tarp is probably water vapor that would otherwise be collecting in your sleeping bag. It is nice to have a floor, or even a bit of an insulated floor under a floorless tent to control condensation and moisture.
10. Those chemical heating pads in your socks at night are great. If you wake up at 3am, you can also stuff some heating pads in your boots and plug the boots with semi-damp socks. The boots and socks will be warm when you get up, and the socks may dry out. The handwarmers can then go from your boots to your hands, and are nice when you are taking your gloves on and off in the morning for camp chores.
11. Iphones completely shut off at 32F! Samsung phones at 0F. Alkaline batteries die at about 14F. Inreach batteries will maybe work at 0F, but barely. Energizer ultimate lithiums work to -20F. It is a good idea to have a small zipper chest pocket in your base layer shirt for any electronics – like expensive Patagonia R1 or capilene shirts sometimes have. Otherwise too hard to keep batteries and liquid crystal screens from freezing.
12. Food freezes like a rock. Small diced pieces, or dry foods, are good. Snacks need to go inside jacket to be warm and soft enough to eat. Pre-cooked diced ham/beef/chicken/etc can be easily boiled in a pot, and then dry soup mix, spaghetti, potatoes, chili can be added to the pot to make an easy hot meal. Skinny thermoses keep water hot/melted all day no problem. I heard of people taking frozen lasagna, omelettes, pastries, etc. in freezer bags, and then thawing/heating the food in a pot of hot water. I want to try that this year, but I might need a bigger pot.
13. It gets dark early. If you are on a moving trip and travel until dusk, it is not fun to set up camp in the dark. Need to be mindful of sunset. I am going to try my tent with fast fly setup instead of my tarp this year. It was too much work to set up my tarp in the dark, unpack, try to get food, etc.
14. Sled should be packed with a low center of gravity, and the load should be flexible so as to slither like a snake over show-shoe/ski tracks to keep the sled from tipping.
15. Fat skis with 3-pin bindings work great, per Dan Cook, and I found that to be true. Bigger fatter skis are almost always better, except if the snow is really crusty, or you are on an ice road. Maybe best to take off skis on the uphill parts of portages. There are almost always big jutting sharp rocks under the snow on these hilly parts of portages that might trash skis.
Here’s what I have not figured out yet:
Ice fishing. My normal fishing skills are poor - slightly better than random chance. I have zero chance of catching fish through the ice without help. I think I need to hire an ice fishing guide at least one time.
Fire building. I think my standard twig gathering doesn’t work. I think I need to bring a saw and wood splitting device – I think these are called hatchets. It is not always so easy to find the official fire grates in winter. I wonder if I should to use a garbage can lid or something under the fire (or maybe I have to under the rules).
Slush. I don’t think I will really have any clue how to deal with this.
How to sit down (and rest without my butt getting wet). My stove table/bench experiment was a bust – except that I figured out how to make stuff really light and strong. I think I am going to build a small 14” 3/16” plywood box or two to go on my sled, for sitting and dry storage.
Better safety. I’m always by myself. I want to assume I’ll fall through the ice, and have enough safety gear that it isn’t a big deal. Right now I’m just a fat middle aged guy with a heavy sled attached to me. That can’t possibly come out good.
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